38 SHAMBHALA SUN NOVEMBER 2012
warmth, which in turn give birth to creative and enlightened
manifestation.
Warmth is the place from which love, kindness, compas-
sion, expansiveness, and creativity arise. It’s like sitting in a
patch of sunlight in cold weather. As the light warms you,
you begin to smile. The warmth you experience is a sense of
feeling complete or, more specifically, no longer feeling in-
complete. You are conscious that any feelings of inadequacy
have dissolved and that you are more connected to your true
self, so naturally you feel complete.
Once anger is cleared, its antidote—love—can more spon-
taneously arise. Once sadness and feelings of inadequacy are
cleared, joy and completeness are revealed. I’m not just say-
ing this; for centuries, yogis and other practitioners have wit-
nessed these results from meditation practice, and my own
students have seen such effects within a few days of practice.
When you create more space and awareness, positive
qualities naturally arise. The more familiar you become with
a sense of warmth, the more often these joyful feelings will
be evident. If this warmth is something you have seldom felt
before, it’s only because you have never before provided the
space for it to manifest.
If you feel the stirring of joy, just be aware of it. Particularly
feel it in your heart, and allow it to expand throughout your
body—through your blood, your skin. Feel all the billions of
cells in your body communicating with each other through
this joy. Let your voice speak from that place, and you will feel
warmth reflecting back on you from the people you speak with.
This is something you’ve wanted and needed all your
life, and now you are feeling it. Warmth is not goal orient-
ed; it is about connecting with your very being. Creativity
flows from here.
THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST
People often make the mistake of trying to act creatively be-
fore cultivating a sense of warmth. As a result, like the ner-
vous person trying to fake confidence with her boss, they
have only limited success. It is only once the clouds have dis-
solved, revealing the clear, vast sky, that the warmth of the
sun’s rays can nourish your creativity.
At any given time, consider what stage you are in, and
do what you can to move the process along. Try to focus
more on what works, rather than what is not working for
you. Don’t force creativity before its time.
Once all the right conditions are in place, unrestricted
creative flow often comes spontaneously. If not, there is no
Tibetan calligraphy: bLo (Consciousness),
by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche